Loyalty
by Gohanroxme
Summary: "Why the heck are you always following me?" "Juvia will follow her Gray-sama until the end of forever: into battle, over a cliff, to her grave...wherever love takes her." Gray thinks about Juvia's loyalty to him and realizes that it's seemingly eternal


Loyalty: Gray/Juvia

_A/N: Yeah, so, my first Gruvia fic, as well as my first Fairy Tail one. Yup. All true Gray/Juvia fans need their first Fairy Tail fan-fiction to be Gruvia. JK _

_This, I guess, is just a bunch of random scenarios that would show Juvia's loyalty to Gray, some of them canon, some not. Most of them, I made up, anyway. R&R please!_

Loyalty.

It was a concept that he was familiar with, something that he had vowed and pledged upon . . . that he felt towards his home. His Fairy Tail.

He'd carved the oath into his heart, to always be faithful to his guild, to love it, to fight for it, to thrive for it's prosperity.

Fairy Tail was where his main source of loyalty lay permanently . . . forever.

But she— she . . . his loyalty for Fairy Tail was nothing to what she felt for him.

He couldn't get her out of his head, couldn't stop replaying all of the unforgettable words she'd spoken . . . even when he was so particularly irritable with her:

* * *

_She had a funny knack for finding him anywhere . . . _

He could hear her shadowing him, matching him step for step as he crossly turned another corner, maneuvering between many bustling bodies.

But she was still trailing him, he noticed, listening intently to her heels' dull clacking on the pavement several feet behind him as he tried desperately to dodge her out.

Around another corner, through an alley, up a building, over a fence, and around yet _another_ corner.

He could smell her now, so close was her heat— how he _hated_ heat —her crisp, oceanic scent entering his nostrils.

And suddenly, she was there in front of him, a superior smile lightening her face whilst he tried to skitter to a halt, thrusting forward his arms to stop himself.

His hands had rested on a chiefly curvy part of her chest and her smile faltered on her lips, if only for a second, cheeks turning rosy.

"Gray-sama, this is your second time . . . ."

Instinctively, his touch retracted, arms dropping to his sides while fists clenched as he let a scowl plaster itself on his face. "Juvia, how the hell do you track me so well?"

Her smile widened, lively and bright and . . . crystal-clear as water. "Love cannot outrun Juvia."

"B-but," he sputtered, motioning around him as he glanced around himself, realizing that they were in a very foreign part of town, "I turned about a gazillion corners! And you _still_ followed me!"

The upturned corners of her lips softened and became more of a timid grin, eyes glazed over with an . . . emotion he couldn't quite describe.

It was very visible, though, in her dark, blue eyes, almost something of longing, a doting ache as she fiddled with the golden, Fairy Tail insignia at the collar of her shirt, biting her bottom lip.

"Juvia can . . . _feel_ Gray-sama from wherever he is, whenever." Her voice was uncertain, her gaze nearly avoiding his.

He frowned. "What do you mean you can '_feel me?_'"

Her smile was back now, the confident, spirited one while her hand slithered into his, her contact sending a fuzzy jolt up his arm, as she led his fingers across her chest, right above her heart.

"Juvia means she can feel you in here. In her heart. As long as she keeps loving Gray-sama, his location is not a mystery."

He stared at her, taking in the sincerity of her words, the coy blush on her cheeks, fixedly observing the sureness in her eyes, and the determination of holding his hand in that specific spot.

And then he looked away, scoffing, "Are you sure it's not just your weird obsession with me?"

Her expression was solemn and unfazed, as if she was used to him doubting and hissing in her face.

Did . . . did he do that often?

But even so, he found out several days later, that when he noticed a strange puddle of water that was clearly stalking him, he didn't try to avoid it, or even escape it— which would've looked strange to any onlookers, anyway —instead, just letting it tag along behind him like a lost pup.

Because he believed her.

* * *

_. . . she respected his dislike for being soaked . . . though a little irritably . . ._

Her left shoulder was pressing painfully into his right as he squinted into the darkness, trying to make out exactly where they were.

His knees were pushed unbearably to his chest, a numb feeling vibrating throughout his legs. He didn't even have room to move his arms. The room was so airtight and hot, so full of her fresh, seawater scent from her position beside him . . . and also of leather and feet and . . . clothes.

"Juvia suspects that she and Gray-sama are in a closet."

He could barely turn to look at her in such a humid, confined space, and probably couldn't anyway, as it was so dark.

"Huh. I would've never guessed that."

She fidgeted beside him, unintentionally knocking him into a wall, and her hair getting into his mouth, as they were so close. "Gray-sama does not have to be so sarcastic."

He couldn't even rub his head, struggling to spit out her locks. "You're _shoving_ me, Juvia."

"Gomen, Gray-sama." She sighed through her nose. "It's tight in here."

He was hot, oh so sweaty, and couldn't even budge to remove his clothes. Hot was uncomfortable. But hot _and_ squished without even knowing how you got in the situation was another story entirely.

"Whose closet _is_ this?"

There was an attempted shrug from the Rain Woman beside him and it drove him into the wall again.

"Why is it so _small_?"

She began to shrug again, her shoulder's skin sticky and sliding against his.

"Where's the _door_?" He paused, frowning at their whole inconvenient position. "Juvia, how did we even get in here?"

With great effort, he managed to shift an arm over his head, his fingers slightly brushing the ceiling, searching for a way out.

"Juvia does not know, Gray-sama." Her answer was simple and light, not at all resembling the frustration and discomfort he was feeling.

"Juvia, do you even _want_ to get out of here?"

It took a while for her to reply, he noticed, while stirring restlessly beside her. " . . . Juvia does not mind staying here with Gray-sama." Her arms strangely grew warmer touching his. "But if he wishes to leave, then she'll help him."

He eyed her in the darkness, which was really pointless, actually, in such obscurity. "Yeah . . . let's get out of here."

A pause.

Her breath was tickling his neck. He impulsively twitched.

"If there's a keyhole, Juvia could turn Sierra and—"

"Get me wet." His interruption was on a whim, and he instantly felt a little guilty, immediately biting his lip.

There was a indignant, throbbing silence, Juvia's left arm sliding next to his.

"Fine, then. Juvia guesses that she and Gray-sama will just stay here t-together in the dark, then."

The embarrassed, shrillness of the shy waver was very apparent in her voice then, her skin heating up against hers, and reminding him of water boiling over a stove.

But even so, he didn't complain as she made the closet even more stuffy or . . .

. . . even object to her previous statement.

Being alone with Juvia wasn't as much as an inconvenience as he'd thought.

* * *

_. . . she acknowledged the fact that he didn't like to mention his past much . . ._

As soon as he'd ordered his drink, she was seated beside him in a flash, requesting for the same thing, to which Mira wriggled suggestive eyebrows at.

"Hello, Gray-sama!" Dazzling and sprightly smile, perpetual sparkle within deep, azure eyes . . . a light tint to her cheeks. Fairy Tail's average Water Mage.

He couldn't resist slipping a small grin toward her. "Hey, Juvia."

"How has Gray-sama been?" He did spot her scooting her stool closer to his, her unique, seashore aroma drifting through his nose. He realized that she was always close . . . so near that he always seemed to catch her fragrance. "Juvia hasn't seen him in ages!"

He refrained from rolling his eyes and became aware that he wasn't leaning away from her, as he usually did whenever she entered his space. "I was just here yesterday, Juvia. And you were too." He pointed at where she was sitting. "Right in that exact place, actually. And I was here."

Her face flushed as she stared at the countertop, fingers curling over her thighs. "Oh, but it's an eternity when one is a way from love for that long . . . ." She glanced up at him for a second. "Hasn't Gray-sama ever felt that way?"

He snorted, reaching for his drink just as Mira had served it. "No one really ever falls in love at Fairy Tail. Trust me, Juvia, I know."

She blinked at him, long, dark lashes brushing faintly her skin. "Nobody at all?" Her voice was soft and interested.

"Well. Except for Bisca and Alzack. And Cana." His straw discontinued halfway toward his lips as he froze, wondering if he was allowed to say more. "But she . . . she got her heart broken. That . . . was a long time ago, though."

Blue eyebrows furrowed in something that appeared to be empathy. "How . . . how long has Gray-sama been in Fairy Tail?"

Fairy Tail. It was his home and he honestly couldn't imagine a life without it; he'd been here for so long that it was almost impossible to of _not_ being there.

"Dunno," he said, absently watching as Mira handed Wakaba his drink. "Since I was a kid, I guess."

She was silent, and when he looked at her, he noticed her idly stirring her lemonade. "Did you live in Magnolia, Gray-sama? Did you have a reason to join this guild, or was it merely because it caught your interest?"

It was an abrupt reaction, his fist straight away clenched over his glass as he stiffened, breath lodging in his throat.

He . . . he was here because of Lyon . . . because of _Ul_ and Deliora and his parents and . . . .

His eyes squeezed shut and he tightened his jaw, the echoing, everlasting screams of his family combusting inside of his head. He could hear his old house splintering, the wild, crackling of flames as they engulfed his body and blistered his cheeks . . . searching, _hunting_ for his parents in all the fire's redness.

And then there was Ul, his teacher, his mentor, his everything who'd . . . who'd sacrificed herself to defeat the monster who had plagued his life all because of his recklessness, reverting herself into ice and . . . .

Damn.

He could feel them, feel the tears brimming in his eyes and he tilted his head back to glare at the ceiling, willing the tears to melt back within his eyes.

"I— I don't think . . . I don't want . . . ." His voice was cracking and his hastily lifted his straw to his drying mouth.

Her hand was on his arm now, the cool, comforting temperature that it always was, but he could tell she was startled. "Ehhh . . . Juvia is sorry! Gray-sama doesn't have to reply. Juvia just wanted to know if somebody brought you here . . . like you brought Juvia to Fairy Tail."

A break.

"Do you know how grateful Juvia is? To be here with Gray-sama and wonderful, new friends?"

Silently, he nodded, sensing the rest of the guild's eyes on them. And they didn't saying anything else for a while, both of them just gazing into their drinks until she told him, "Then Juvia will speak of her past."

He glanced up at her, at the genuine sympathy in her attractive, orbs of cobalt. "You don't have to do th—"

"You can cry, Gray-sama." It was an unexpected statement, but sincere all the same, her voice clear and determined. "Juvia won't think any less of you. Because Juvia cried all the time before she met Fairy Tail . . . before you."

The indisputable compassion in her tone only made him want to cry more.

And then she told him about rain, about droplets of water that perpetually fell around her, that dripped for every one of her tears. She told him about the teasing, about the depression she'd felt and thought would be eternal. She told him about water, horrible floods that she'd brought on to towns, about the deaths that were always her fault, her emotions.

She told him that she wasn't accepted, wasn't ever loved.

Almost instinctively, truthfully, he told her that she was. By Fairy Tail.

By him.

* * *

_. . . he obviously made her lustful . . ._

It was raining. Not a harsh, intense rain, but heavy enough that it made him concerned when he found her by the riverside, sitting by herself.

Because he caught on.

He'd ran to her, boots splashing in ample puddles along the cobbled ground until he was beside her, clunking down next to her.

Her elegant, sapphire locks were drenched, clothes completely saturated with water, even though he was sure she could will herself dry.

She turned to him, surprise evident on her features. "G-Gray-sama?"

"It's raining," he said, head cocked backward to look at the sky. "Thought I took that way." His eyes darted to rest on her sodden frame. "You okay, Juvia?"

He watched her cheeks flush as she turned away from him, mumbling, "It's not Juvia's fault, Gray-sama. It's raining of natural causes."

He blinked, shaking the wetness from his shaggy hair. "Oh."

He was getting wet . . . not as soaked as the Rain Woman beside him, but getting there. Cold drops of rain inched down the back of his shirt and into his pants. Water dribbled off the ends of his hair, falling into his face and causing his shirt to cling to his person.

It was cold. Shockingly freezing and . . . he loved it.

He could feel her probing eyes on his body. Startled, he snapped his head up, only to see her look away. "What're you doing, Juvia?"

Her gaze was locked on the river, at the disruption the rain caused when it spattered against the water. "N-nothing, Gray-sama . . . ."

"No," he smiled fondly at her undying bashfulness, "I meant why are you here?"

She appeared somewhat taken aback by his inquiry, lifting a hand to wring out her waterlogged strands. "Juvia is . . . taking a shower."

Her words struck something within him as he gawked at her through wet eyelashes, astonished. "You _bathe_ in the _rain_, Juvia?"

She seemed to be embarrassed with his reaction. "N-no . . . anoo . . . it's just to . . . feel the rain. Juvia always sits in the rain when it's not because of her." She exhaled through her nose. "It feels better to Juvia. More natural and less . . . despondent."

Her tone was kind of troubled as she bit her lip, eyes slipping away from his. She sounded lonely and . . . Gray knew that she was definitely not alone.

He crossed his arms. "Well, Juvia, I'll just stay out here with you, then. I actually like the rain too . . . it's . . . refreshing."

It _was_ refreshing, so chilly that it burned, and he just had to feel it on his bare skin.

He gripped the sides of his shirt and tossed it off, immediately detecting Juvia's watch on him averting quickly. "Hm? What's the matter?" The biting water felt good as it thudded lightly against his unclothed chest.

He could see her own chest rising and falling rapidly, cheeks enflamed, even though she still wasn't facing him. "Juvia . . . s-shouldn't be . . . ." Her voice was breaking, doused with some sort of yearning.

He moved closer to her, wanting her to actually look toward him. "W-what? Hey, Juvia?" Her skin was touching his, icy and damp.

"Yes, Gray-sama?" It was nearly a whine, he took in, pitchy, her eyes fixed intently on something other than him.

"Look at me."

She shivered and he knew it that it was because of their contact, as she grew hotter against him. "Gray-sama, but you're _naked_."

"I'm always naked. Just look at me." Because he noticed how every time he seemed to lose his shirt, she would deeply examine him for about two seconds before swiftly flickering her gaze elsewhere.

"Juvia shouldn't."

The river's water was churning unnaturally, almost restlessly as Juvia fidgeted next to him.

"Why not?" He reached for her hand, worried, and also testing to see if her strangeness had anything to with him, but she halfheartedly tried to pull away. "What's wrong, Juvia?"

He was concerned for her, his . . . precious fangirl who was now, oddly, uncomfortable to be in his presence. It was weird.

"It's a nasty feeling, really . . . ."

Her declaration was out of the blue and he blinked at her, staggered. "H-huh? What is?"

" . . . to have _those_ kind of thoughts . . . ."

He frowned, water getting into his eyes as he stared, dumbfounded. "W-what? What the hell are you going on abo—?"

"Does Gray-sama have any idea of what he does to Juvia?" Her interruption was unpredicted, her voice trembling as well as her body. And again, Gray, who had no idea was she was talking about, was rendered speechless.

The rain steadily grew harder against them and he was straining to see her expression, since she was undoubtedly the cause of why the downpour had gotten more forceful.

"Do you know what it feels like to Juvia when Gray-sama is shirtless and exposing a lovely body that Juvia especially knows she can't ha—?"

And then she grew rigid, hands instantly cupping over her mouth while Gray just gaped at her and the bright blush accompanying her cheeks, swallowing thickly.

Jeez.

Her hands were still covering her mouth as she stammered, voice muffled, "Oh, Juvia is so, extremely sorry, Gray-sama! _Gomenasai_! Juvia was not supposed to say that at all, but when Gray-sama is topless, things just fly out of her mouth and— and you really can keep your shirt off if you wish! Juvia promises that she doesn't mind in the least!"

She was flustered. _So_ flustered. He could understand that by just hearing her voice, by just seeing the vigorous swirling of the river and he could admit . . . that her words had sorta brought a heat to his face as well.

And so he reached for his sopping shirt and reluctantly slid it back on.

She was studying him in what seemed to be bewilderment, palms lowering from her face. "G-Gray-sama . . . keep your shirt off. Don't let Juvia sway your will . . . ."

He shrugged, trying not to show that he was startled by her abrupt announcement. "Meh. It's nothing, really . . ." His chuckle sounded forced. "Just to make sure that you don't blurt anything you wanna keep . . . inside."

He winked at her to show that he was joking with her, but she reddened anyway, nodding solemnly with a "Juvia understands, Gray-sama. Thank you."

But of course, watching as she turned away, probably lost in her own musings, Gray knew that he had not been kidding. In a way, it wasn't fair to her if he had his shirt off. He didn't want her to tell him her secrets if she really didn't want to, and he guessed . . . that if he was shirtless, she'd be dazed, or something, and keep spewing stuff that was probably best kept to herself.

And . . . taking advantage of her was not what he wanted.

* * *

_. . . she would have his back, even if the rest of the world didn't . . ._

Rough, feminine hands were gripping his shoulders, shaking unmercifully as a voice barked, "Hey, you awake, Gray?"

It was Cana. Her voice, the smell of her vodka on her breath. He could feel her anger, her disappointment . . . for it radiated thickly from her person and . . . nothing other than that could make him feel like an utter failure. "Tell us what the hell's going on here!"

Yes. Yes, he _was_ awake with his head slightly bowed, but of course, he did nothing to give her the confirmation. She would only lecture him, wouldn't she, just like Erza? She would snap at him for acting like a traitor, for getting Natsu in the situation he was now, as if it were his fault that the idiot forgot his significant promise.

Cana, all of his nakama . . . they would speak to him in disapproving tones, tell him he was wrong, that what he was doing was wrong, and that he was acting stupid.

Maybe he was.

But they didn't know . . . they didn't know what would happen to those poor people if Natsu didn't stop Daphne, if he hadn't interfered.

But if . . . if they were right, if Natsu was losing, then it would be all his fault and he would be a Fairy Tail traitor.

A traitor of where his heart of loyalty supposedly lay.

G-Gramps would be so dissatisfied with him, so mad at him that . . . that he'd kick him out!

If . . . if Natsu didn't win, then everything would be on him and—

He was being shaken again, yet he didn't resist. Didn't he deserve it if he was the cause of Natsu dying?

Natsu . . . dying . . . ?

Jeez, _there_ was a foreign thought.

Her nails dug into his shoulders. "Because if you don't, I'll . . ."

He winced, involuntarily ducking his head lower, and before he could brace himself from her possible discipline speech, her hands were abruptly thrown from his shoulders and somebody else was in front of him.

He smelled the ocean.

"Please, stop!" He inhaled sharply, recognizing the voice . . . a voice that was watery, wavering with tears.

It was her, her back, her blue-and-white clad form with her arms outstretched in a protective shield.

She was . . . was protecting him? Even if he could've been the bad guy?

"There is no way that Gray-sama has betrayed Fairy Tail!"

He could feel a frown tugging on his lips as he stared at her from underneath his bangs, stunned. How could she be so sure, anyway? He wasn't even sure himself, didn't even know if what he was doing was exactly right. He could claim that he was on Fairy Tail's side, but . . . if Daphne won, what would that make him?

"Juvia believes in him." The firmness of her voice plucked at his heart, sending tremors up his spine.

Why was she so sure? He'd known Cana for years and she was doubting him (which might've been the right choice, actually) and Juvia was fighting for him. She was defending him, shielding him . . . she had faith in him, even though at the moment, he didn't in himself, and was juggling with his motives.

Was he right, or was she right? Had he betrayed Fairy Tail or not?

"No matter what people say . . . even if the whole world turned against him!" She was crying; he could sense the tears on her cheeks . . . he'd made her cry for him, something he'd thought he'd taken away from her so that only tears of joy were left.

Her body was quivering along with her voice, yet she continued to guard him, continued to speak her support for him . . . her loyalty.

But she would be with him, even if she was the only one, and the thought of it was so pleasant, so sweet and kind of her that . . . that he could feel his eyes stinging and quickly squeezed them shut.

"Juvia . . ." She was strong, resisting the sobs that he could hear forming at the back of her throat.

And he was biting back his own tears, glaring at his knees. Would she trust him, albeit his disloyalty be true? Would she still stand at his side? Juvia was so reliable and . . . dedicated to him, which would really be something depressing if he had let down Fairy Tail . . . if he let Natsu die and really be thought of as a traitor.

The idea made the stinging in his eyes change into a burn, his vision blurring in the corners and a lump throbbing in his throat.

He stood suddenly, clasping a hand to her shoulder and blinked rapidly to keep from crying, feeling her muscles tense beneath him. "Enough, Juvia."

_Enough_.

Because if she went on with such kind words and he ended up the bad guy, it would only make him feel worse for shattering her trust in him.

And that would hurt her too.

* * *

_. . . because she truly loved him.  
_

"_Why_ the hell are you always _following_ me?" He couldn't say why he was so furious, except for the fact that he was in the middle of a mission in a desert that was so fucking sweltering, even though it was nighttime, with sweat trickling from every pore on his body, while most of his clothes were discarded someplace, and since his Ice Make magic was failing in the intense heat, his Shield had not succeeded in forming to protect him.

And she had popped out from wherever she had been hiding to shove him out of the way of the incoming attack, taking the blow instead.

She was sitting in the sand, leaning back on her hands, and he could tell from her position and the way that she was breathing, that her left ribs were deeply injured.

"J-Juvia follows Gray-sama . . . to ensure that he is safe."

In the background, he could hear Lucy's Scorpio taking down the desert bastard that had almost killed him, but his attention was entirely on the blue-haired girl on the ground in front of him.

She appeared utterly embarrassed with the situation, her eyes on one of her hands that were sifting sand through her fingers.

He paced the ground, just to blow off his much unwanted steam. "Why? Why do you feel the need to do that? I have a team right here." He motioned to Erza, Natsu, Happy, and he could've sworn Juvia cringed when he pointed to Lucy. "They can do that for me."

"But you almost died just now," she mumbled, still not facing him. "Gray-sama's team doesn't protect him was well as Juvia."

He ignored that, feeling unnecessary agitation increasing in his chest. "No. Maybe not, but I can see you all the time, Juvia! I know you follow me. You do it _constantly, _even when I'm not even on a mission and I want to know why."

He did notice her creeping behind him at times in the streets, or back home outside his house at night. He'd never really thought much about it, other than the fact that it was weird and slightly annoying until now, with her hurt and immobile at his feet, but still looking up at him as if he were a god.

"Juvia," his voice was softer and more composed as he gazed at her, even though she was looking away with a blush on her cheeks, "you don't need to hurt yourself for me."

Her right hand seemingly unconsciously slid over to rest on her side. "Anoo . . . Gray-sama, it's nothing . . . ."

He frowned. "You can't lie to me, Juvia. Just tell me why you would risk yourself to . . . save me."

Actually, he would do the same for her, for anyone in his guild and possibly beyond, but coming from a certain water mage, he sensed that there was more to it than that. It was always like that with Juvia.

"Gray-sama, we're . . . nakama." He wondered why she seemed to choke on that sentence.

"Are you sure?" The question was daring, something dangerous where the answer could be anything and go either way: even something that he wasn't sure he wanted to hear. "Or am I something more to you?" He was rambling random things now, just to get an answer out of her. "Do you stalk the other guild members too? Why is it only me that you jump out of wherever to knock to the side?"

She flinched, cerulean eyebrows raising as her lips quivered hardly noticeably. Her gaze was still trained on the ground, nervously turned away from his. "J-Juvia would risk herself for anyone of her guild, Gray-sama . . . ."

He narrowed his eyes at her, knowing that she would, anyway. Save someone instead of herself. Anyone of Fairy Tail would, yet still, it was . . . different coming from Juvia when it was directed at himself. She was evidently leaving stuff out.

Suddenly, he wasn't angry with her anymore; none of his previous anger was really towards her, anyway, but with the unfortunate turn of events.

He knelt in front of her in the sand, his hand reaching out to feel for her injury, and she stiffened, cheeks coloring when his fingers made contact with her side.

"Hey, I'm just sorry you got hurt, alright?" He said, still fighting to meet her eyes. "You okay?"

"I-It's nothing to Juvia's water body." Her voice was breathless for some reason, and she seemed to lean into his touch.

Gray arched an eyebrow; he was totally unconvinced, knowing that if he offered to carry her, she wouldn't object, but said nothing against it. Instead, he wondered if she could stand, since it would be completely excruciating to feel broken bones shift across each other while you stepped. He knew, as he'd had several rib damage during the years.

He picked her up anyway, bridal style, his ears twitching with the sound of her small gasp.

"Is this alright?"

She was having a hard time avoiding his gaze, he noticed, since she was the one laying in his arms. "It . . . it's fine."

Red was her face, and he could see her chest rising and falling fast, though he could tell she was trying to control her breathing, as it probably hurt to inhale and exhale that quickly.

Her hair tickled his arm and bare chest and she seemed to swallow some sort of squeal every time a part of him brushed a part of her.

He could see Natsu's smirk from two feet away and chose to ignore Erza and Lucy's knowing glances, as he had no idea what they meant.

"What're you smilin' about, _Snot_su?" He deadpanned while walking right past him.

"Haha, I bet you wish you'd've let me bring Wendy along now; her Healing Magic could've worked charms on Juvia, don't y— _what_ _the hell did you just call me?_"

Erza's SE-Plug vehicle was unfortunately probably a couple miles away, where she had strangely parked it and ordered them the rest of the way to the desert bandits' hideout on foot.

So they had to trudge there, Lucy complaining and selfishly hiding away in the coolness of her Horologium and Juvia jolting every time Gray made one wrong step that caused her wounded side to bump faintly into some part of him.

The _new_ worst part of it all was that he was tired and sweating and carrying a damaged girl that wasn't particularly _light_, and who seemed to be keeping something from him.

But he was just kind of worried that she might've been uncomfortable with being held against his sticky body like that, or if maybe the perspiration from his hair was dripping unto her, or something unpleasant like that.

So occasionally, he would ask if she was doing alright, to which she would respond with a "Juvia is fine."

All except for once.

One time, the _last _time, she said quite abruptly, "Juvia doesn't."

He blinked down at her, confused. "What?"

"S-stalk the other guild members." Her voice was soft and shy, her cheeks turning rosy as she played with her fingers, staring at anything but him. "It's only Gray-sama."

Her felt her words slowly dawn on him from their earlier, minor argument before he uttered a hoarse, "_Why_?"

Of course he would ask why. He didn't know why he heard Lucy snort something akin to disapproval from behind him, but '_why'_ was a natural question, a natural reaction when you learned that somebody specifically tracked only you. It was something he just had to know.

She hesitated, eyes closing slowly before opening again, and this time they were on him, cobalt and clear as the ocean, glazed over with an emotion foreign to him.

Her eyes were strong, nonetheless, while they focused directly on his. "Because . . . Juvia will follow her Gray-sama until the end of forever: into battle, over a cliff, to her grave . . . wherever love takes her."

She paused and studied him closely and Gray felt heat rushing to his face, as well as his heart stammering in his chest. That would always happen when she would talk to him like that, and it used to be something he didn't get, something that he would curiously cock an eyebrow toward and watch her speed away with a blush . . . but now it . . . he was sort of catching what she meant, what she was _feeling_ because he could hear it in her voice, the everlasting sentiment it seemed to be doused in.

"Because Gray-sama's will is Juvia's will . . . his will to live, his will to fight, his will to protect." Her eyes averted his again, as the red on her face grew darker and as his grew hotter. "J-Juvia loves Gray-sama, so she shall stay with him."

And just like that, one of his breaths of inhalation went in a little sharper than he would've like with his fluster, though he felt no need to say a thing because he'd sort of known that she would respond with something like that.

She loved him.

She'd said it, hadn't she, and he knew it wasn't a lie.

No. Those doting gazes he'd notice her giving him from the corner of his eyes were fully understandable now, and they couldn't have been lies. Her devotion to him, her _trust_ couldn't have been lies.

They were the ultimate form of love, the final type of dedication: Her Loyalty.

And he too knew that deep down inside, he had it back for her, as he could feel it tickling at his heart, brushing it faintly with a sweet sensation that could make him gasp in surprise to how . . . blissful a feeling it was.

_A/N: Jeez, I just hate endings. For me, it's totally a flaw of mine. I suck at em. _

_Well, hopefully this wasn't too long for you. This right here is my longest one-shot ever, I'm positive. It took a lot of work._

_Hmm . . . this was something entirely creative of me. It's barely canon, I know. I don't even know which outfit to imagine Juvia in, or which arc this could take place in without a Lyon interference. _

_Yeah, and this could very well be OOC. Or not. I could be completely spot-on. I'm confusing like that, but with any luck, you guys could send me a review. I'd like to know how I did on this (tiring) piece of work. Thanks for reading!_


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